What's this about?

Ladies and gents our story begins with our author who one day packed up
his bags to spend the next 5 years of his life on some tropical island far
far away. This land is not like any place he has ever been to before.
There is no telling of what he may encounter during his stay there but one
thing is sure he is going to be in for one crazy adventure. And this is
where you get to read about it.

What you say?

Readers beware!

The stories told here maybe appear larger than in
real life and at times may even appear outlandish. However, all actual
events are in fact real (well, most of them). What may appear as a
distortion of reality to some may only be due to the author's perspective
of the actual events. Some say he is just not right in the head.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Well as you could imagine during a 14 hour road trip to Pagudpud there are probably going to be a lot of things to see... most of which is traffic. However, once you get further up north and more along the coast just around the corner the view gets a whole lot better.

Some shorelines along the way looked better than the ones I’ve had to pay for in Batangas.

Like this stretch of beach some places had little tide pools where if you had a net you could stock up your salt water aquarium.

This is the mouth of Abra river, one of the three rivers that surrounds Vigan. Unfortunately like many of the other rivers in this country it has been heavily polluted due to urbanization. There is now a movement going on to try and preserve this river which once used to support the populations along its banks.

In the northern half of Ilocos Sur lies the city of Vigan. In 1572 Captain Jaun de Salcedo sailed to the island and took the already established town by force. Then two years later in 1574 Salcedo brought with him Augustian Missionaries to evangelize the native people and establish the Spanish colony. Today many of the historical buildings still stand erect and give you an idea of how the city looked back during its Spanish roots for which it is famous for. The city of Vigan is listed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List for being the best preserved Spanish colonial city in all of Asia.

I actually missed Vigan on the way to Pagudpud and had to stop by it on the way back.

Before the automobile there was the calesa.

All along the streets are little stores for you to buy your souvenirs...

...Such as this cool hat which I should have bought made from a huge gourd. By the way I think I’ve seen this same person in Pagudpud. She may have been stalking me. Hmm...

I would have liked to spend more time in this city to take more pictures. The city streets with their cobblestones and rustic appearance are very picturesque.

A little tidbit of history trivia, before the time of the Spanish Vigan used to be a trading port for sailing merchants from all around Asian, especially China. Many Chinese sailors integrated with the native people and decided to settle down in the area which earned the town the name of Kasanglayan (where the Chinese live).

A little farther up north is another historical landmark the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. The lighthouse was established 1892 when the country was still under Spanish rule and it still runs today, which surprises me because it doesn’t look very well maintained. When I got there, there was only one very old caretaker running the whole show.

I bet this placed would look creepy at night.

A view from the highest elevated lighthouse in the Philippines. I stuck my camera thru a broken window to get this shot. Of course the window was already broken when I got there.

That’s the biggest light bulb I have ever seen in my life. I wonder if I could get one for my room.

Well, as you finally make it closer to Pagudpud you’ll come across an interesting sign that I presume marks another popular tourist attraction.

Hmm, "a lot of people have died here". I wonder why that would be when you have a buss trying to overtake a semi-truck around a blind corner.

Just a little farther down the road there is a little rest stop with a nice view over looking the town of Pagudpud.

I guess incase you get into some horrible automobile accident out there this will give your family something to sooth them as they morn over your loss.

As you get down to flat land surrounding the town Pagudpud you'll see many fields of rice. I would guess that farming is actually the real main source of income in this town.

Also along the way to Pagudpud you'll get to see many of these guys tied up along long the side of the road. A national symbol of the Philippines, the carabao.

This guy was tied to the tree buy his nose. That’s got to hurt.

Well I’m sure there are also a lot of other things to check out along the way to Pagudpud but that’s about all the time I had for this time around. Until next time...